Join your fellow arts, culture, and history supporters at the 2008 Cultural Advocacy Day on Monday, Feb. 18 in Des Moines! As a supporter of the arts, your presence is needed to celebrate and raise awareness of Iowa’s cultural assets during this very important event.

Participants will rally and receive advocacy training at the State Historical Building in Des Moines the morning of

February 18 before marching up to the State Capitol to talk with legislators. Workshops will be held in the afternoon at the Historical Building. The annual Cultural Advocacy Day reception – always a good opportunity to rub shoulders with policy makers and your fellow advocates – will occur that evening in Des Moines’ East Village.

Activities are being planned by the Iowa Cultural Coalition, which serves as the main advocacy, technical assistance and communications network available to people and organizations who create an appreciation for all forms of art, historic preservation, museums, science and cultural educational endeavors in Iowa. Watch www.iowaculturalcoalition.org for more information about Cultural Advocacy Day and to learn more about the organization.

How to Advocate

Advocacy doesn’t have to be scary or intimidating. Talking to your legislator is like talking to anyone else, particularly because he or she comes from your area of the state, and probably knows your neighbors or family members. But the best part? They work for you.

The Iowa Arts Council has a quick and easy guide to arts advocacy on its Web site , with lots of good resource information about advocacy, and data about funding for the arts in Iowa.

If you’re coming to Cultural Advocacy Day, it’s a good idea to write your legislator to make an appointment with him or her during that afternoon. Contacting legislators is easy: visit www.legis.state.ia.us and search by your address or zip code.

Or click on the IAC’s Advocacy Page for helpful tips, what to say and how to say it. There are also links to advocacy groups across the country, with even more resources and suggestions.

It’s a lot simpler than you may think. The support you show for culture in Iowa now goes a long way toward ensuring a vibrant cultural Iowa in the future.

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Iowa Native Returns as Director of Arts on Grand

Having grown up in northwest Iowa, the decision to return from Denver, Colo., for Marta Barnard seemed like a logical one when the possibility of becoming executive director of Arts on Grand in Spencer became available.

Now living in nearby Spirit Lake, Barnard started her position at AOG in October, 2007. As executive director of a nonprofit, wearing many different hats is part of the deal. Barnard curates exhibits, writes grants, assists workshops and promotes the gallery to draw area artists. With her husband, Chad Branham, she has even made a video promoting AOG in hopes of bringing attention to the gallery.

“We are really trying to keep Iowa artists in the area, and doing so by giving them a space to display and sell their pieces,” Barnard said. “We understand the struggle financially to be an artist in this area.”

Barnard is enjoying life back in Iowa, away from Denver traffic and closer to family members. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts from the University of Colorado in Boulder, Barnard has worked her whole life in the art world as a director, choreographer and actor. She was more than pleased to see

Barnard directs an acting class for young people.

improvements being made to support Iowa’s creative culture. “We really do like the quality of life here; there is a lot of stuff happening in Spencer that wasn’t happening even 10 years ago,” Barnard said. “Especially within the art community. We see someone like Chad Elliot who opened up Shaky Tree Coffee and is also recording music, and the Bogenrief Studios doing their amazing glass work, which is widely recognized across the nation.”

Barnard and her husband hope to start their own company, which will be called Willow River Arts and will focus on aspects of theatre, dance and film, while providing outreach services to the community.

--By Catlin Curry, intern

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ICCA Announces 2007 Innovative Excellence Award Nominations

The Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance (ICCA), a group of 128 arts and culture organizations located in the 11-county area around the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Corridor, announced nominations for its upcoming Cultural Corridor Innovative Excellence Awards (aka The Ickys). The event is the Corridor’s only cultural awards voted on solely by the peer groups of ICCA.

The ballot contains award nominations in 11 categories and will be voted on by each of the 128-member organizations of ICCA. The results will be announced live during the Icky Awards, on Tuesday, January 22. The formal-but-fun, red-carpet event will be held at Theatre Cedar Rapids, 102 Third St. SE, Cedar Rapids, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Area celebrity presenters, including Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge, will present the awards. There will also be 13 live performances representing some of the cultural community’s many successes during calendar year 2007.

“This event brings together both ends of the Corridor and all of the various cultural organizations - both amateur and professional - to look back and celebrate the good news of Corridor-area arts and culture,” said Joe Jennison, executive director of ICCA. “We hope the entire community will come out to celebrate with us.”

Tickets to the event are $20 and are available through Theatre Cedar Rapids at (319) 366-8591. Visit the Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance’s Web site for more information and a listing of nominees.

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Let the Poems Be Heard!

Poetry Out Loud, the National Endowment for the Arts and Poetry Foundation’s national poetry recitation competition, has begun in Iowa on a regional level. Twenty-five schools and 30 teachers from around the state have signed on to participate in the 2008 program. Local school competitions started in early December and will continue through mid-February. The state competition will be held March 8 in Des Moines.

Drama Director Mark Rixner at North High School in Des Moines is in charge of his school’s competition and encourages all schools in Iowa to participate in future years. Though this was North’s first time and the competition was small, the opportunity drew a diverse group of students ranging from drama students, advanced English and freshman students. Rixner plans to strengthen and grow the program at North in the years to come, and has visions of whole-school participation with an all-school assembly for the competition. This year, North will send Saulaman Schlegel, a senior advanced drama student, to the state competition in March.

Students in these schools will be reciting great poems in their local schools soon, and one student from each will compete at the state level on March 8:

CAL Community School (Latimer)

Central HS (Dewitt)

East HS (Des Moines)

East Mills HS (Malvern)

English Valleys HS (North English)

Harris Lake Park Community Schools

(Lake Park)

HLV Community School (Victory)

Hoover HS (Des Moines)

Lincoln HS (Des Moines)

MMC HS (Marcus)

Newton HS (Newton)

North HS (Des Moines)

Northview Middle School (Ankeny)

Norwalk HS (Norwalk)

Paton-Churdan Community School (Churdan)

Peet Junior HS (Cedar Falls)

Perry HS (Perry)

Roland-Story HS (Story City)

Sigourney HS (Sigourney)

Treynor HS (Treynor)

Valley HS (West Des Moines)

Vinton-Shellsburg HS (Vinton)

Waukon HS (Waukon)

West Harrison CSD (Mondamin)

West Monona HS (Onawa)

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Breaking Ground in Red Oak

Today the Wilson Performing Arts Center (WPAC) in Red Oak is a mere hole in the ground, but at this time next year, community leaders anticipate a grand opening for the state-of-the-art performance venue. Having broken ground in November, and with a year long construction plan, WPAC Board of Directors President Larry Brandstetter is tentatively planning the opening of the facility by December of 2008.

The facility will be located near the

Community partners break ground on the Wilson Performing Arts Center November 2, 2007.

junction of U.S. Highway 34 and State Highway 48 in Red Oak, an unassuming town of 6,000 nestled along the Nishnabotna River in southwest Iowa. Its location will only reinforce the Center’s role in being a regional resource for the arts in the area.

Larry Brandstetter

“We are not a facility for just Red Oak, this is quite a distinction. We are the performing arts center for southwest Iowa,” said Brandstetter. “Our programs will reach out to all 90,000 people here. It will be a place for southwest Iowans to see southwest Iowans in community theater, music and visual arts.”

At approximately 23,000 square feet, the WPAC will feature a 250 seat auditorium with balcony; a lobby gallery for gatherings and visual art displays; a flexible stage area for theatre, music, dance and film; a dance studio; rehearsal/classroom space; scene and

costume shops; and dressing rooms. It will also be home to many educational programs including a string ensemble, guitar lessons, a creative drama program and dance lessons.

The WPAC is funded by a $1 million Vision Iowa grant and support from the Iowa Arts Council, as well as private donors. More information on the progress of the building and future programming can be found at www.wilsonartscenter.org.

--by Catlin Curry, intern

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Upcoming Grant Writing Workshops

Staff from the Iowa Arts Council will be in Cresco Jan. 17-18 for an extended grant writing workshop. The free workshop will be held at Cresco Bank & Trust, 126 Second Avenue S.E. beginning at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 17.

This workshop will be more in-depth than the IAC’s normal half-day grant writing workshops. Workshop participants should have concrete ideas for projects in need of grant money. IAC staff will provide basic information about the IAC grants process and tips on successful grant writing. Participants will then spend time writing, reading and giving feedback to each other. Everyone should leave the workshop with at least a draft for an IAC grant.

Participants are asked to bring a 50-word project description; an outline, bullet points or draft of narrative responses for either an IAC mini or major grant; budget ideas; writing tools; and paper or a laptop (though be prepared that wireless Internet access may not be available).

Review grant guidelines, criteria and forms at www.iowaartscouncil.org/funding/overview.shtml. Register and find more information, including workshop agenda, by visiting the Grant Writing Workshop Web page.

The IAC will also hold a Grant Writing Workshop Feb 4 from 9 a.m.-Noon at the Ames Public Library, 515 Douglas Avenue. Register and find more information by visiting the Grant Writing Workshop Web Page.

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Students Connect With Iowa Author to Find Writing Passion

By Harriet Clark

As part of the National Endowment for the Art’s American Masterpieces Initiative, the Iowa Arts Council established a new partnership with the Iowa Writers’ Workshop to send a recent Workshop alum into Iowa classrooms each year.

As the first recipient of this Writer-in-the-Schools Fellowship, I facilitated mini-workshops, met with students one-on-one, taught lessons on character, dialogue, plot, and revision, and conducted close readings of stories and poems by famous Workshop alumni. One teacher in Northeast Iowa put it this way: “We are so fortunate in our state to have a program of the Workshop’s caliber that literally draws in the best and brightest, those who will fill the anthologies of the future. Students throughout Iowa should be able to take pride in the Workshop, and what better way than to connect with a ‘real author’.”

As that “real author,” my priority was to share the excitement I feel about writing and Iowa’s place in this country’s literary history. It was also important to me to be upfront about how difficult writing can be, even for impassioned and established writers. What I told all of the students is that the primary decision every author makes is to write about what interests them in a way that interests them.

Knowing what fascinates us and why is harder than it sounds, however, so I began each class by having the students come up with questions that provoked answers they found engaging. One student told me, “I never was a writer until you came to visit. Now I’m inspired to take the things I love and write about them in a way that’s enjoyable for me.”

Harriet Clark visited schools in Des Moines, West Des Moines, Iowa City, and Spencer during the fall semester as part of this American Masterpieces project. Teacher Karen Downing said, “She put a face to the University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop, and in doing so, she stretched our thinking and deepened our discussion of the writing craft.” One of many enthusiastic student responses was, “I think I avoided writing before, but you have inspired me to write, even if I am scared.”

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Iowa Artist Does More than Just Rock

Born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Lynne Rothrock is a local musician who does more than dazzle audiences with her vocal talents. With a vocal styling that includes jazz, musical theatre, blues, pop, gospel and folk, Rothrock also lends her talent to teaching.

Holding a B.A. in Music Education and Theatre from Luther College and a Masters of Music in Voice from Western Michigan University, Rothrock has built upon her passion by earning vast experience. She has served on the faculty of Austin Peay State University; Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts and is currently on the voice faculty at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids. She is also a member of the Iowa Arts Council’s Performing Artist Roster.

Rothrock offers a variety of workshop experiences, suitable for any type of vocal ensemble, choral groups, show choir, vocal jazz,

soloists, and more. Her typical format is to work with a vocal ensemble then join them in performance.

As a performer, Rothrock has traveled all over the nation, from Nashville to Seattle, and will be performing at the upcoming Heritage Music Festival in New York City this spring.

Her performances vary from solo performances on stage with only a guitar to working with a seven piece band. Each show is unique as she intersperses music and humor.

“My philosophy of performance is to create the most intimate atmosphere possible and to directly connect with the audience on an emotional level,” said Rothrock.

Most recently Rothrock released her own holiday CD entitled Christmas with the help of a mini grant received from the IAC.

“It was a live recording made from the Christmas shows that I performed in Cedar Rapids. The grant helped me get it printed in time for availability this past Christmas season,” said Rothrock.

More about Lynne Rothrock including contact and booking information can be found by visiting her Iowa Arts Council Roster Page.

--by Catlin Curry, intern

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2008 Iowa Culture & Language Conference: “Harvesting Hopes & Dreams”

The Iowa Culture & Language Conference (ICLC) advocates for culturally and/or linguistically diverse students and their families, educators and service providers.

The 2008 annual conference will be held Feb. 19-20 (with pre-conferences on Feb. 18) at the Polk County Convention Complex, 501 Grand Avenue in downtown Des Moines.

Each year, the Iowa Arts Council sponsors a “Folklife Stream” of workshops at this conference. This year’s program features sessions on Asian Indian dance, Tango, the developing Iowa Folklife II online curriculum, and cultural information about Iowa’s diverse Latino communities.

For more conference information including schedule of events and registration: Visit the ICLC Conference Web site or contact Helene Grossman, ICLC Conference Coordinator, by email at qualitycomm@walnutcreekhills.net or by telephone at (515) 321-4561.

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Lang to Serve on NASAA Board

Iowa Arts Council Board of Directors Chair Brad Lang will serve on the National Assembly of State Art Agencies (NASAA) Board of Directors. He is one of the newest members to serve on the board, which consists of 20 cultural advocates from across the U.S. Lang was nominated for the NASAA board position through his involvement with the IAC and Cyndi Pederson, director of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.

Lang’s duties begin immediately and include working to fulfill NASAA’s mission to strengthen state arts agencies by representing their individual and collective interests, empowering their work through knowledge and advancing the arts as an essential public benefit. His 3-year term will end in Sept. 2010.

“I am very honored to be serving with a group of people who are so committed to lobbying and making a difference in the arts world,” said Lang.

Lang, who currently resides in Cedar Rapids, is an architect and co-owner of the Solum Lang Architects and has accumulated 14 years of experience in the field.

NASAA was formed in 1968 as a vehicle to bring together state arts agencies like IAC to improve public service, ultimately focusing on the goal to provide an arts policy voice to every resident in every community in every state. The NASAA Board of Directors typically meets two to three times per year, including during its annual conference in September.

For more about NASAA, visit www.nasaa-arts.org.

--by Catlin Curry, intern

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DCA Awards 21 Arts, History and Cultural Grants

The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs announced it has awarded 21 grants totaling $43,530 to support quality of life efforts in Iowa communities.

DCA received 51 eligible grant applications requesting $116,035 during the first year of the Small Operating Support program, which is designed to help small and mid-sized arts, history and cultural organizations with operational expenses. Applicants may apply for no more than five percent of their previous year’s operating budget, up to a maximum of $5,000.

Grant recipients may use the funds for expenditures occurring Jan. 1-June 30, 2008, including personnel, equipment purchases, new member challenge drives to match membership dues, software purchases, staff training or marketing and promotional expenses.

To see a list of SOS recipients or for more information about the program, visit the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs Web site.

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Iowans Receive NEA Literature Fellowships

In its first major grant announcement of FY08, the National Endowment for the Arts has awarded 42 Creative Writing Fellowships totaling more than $1 million to individual writers across the U.S.

Debra Marquart of Ames and John D’Agata of Iowa City will each receive $25,000 as part of the NEA’s most direct investment in American creativity, encouraging the production of new work and allowing writers the time and means to write. The NEA received more than 777 applications for the Fellowship.

Marquart is a professor of English at Iowa State University whose work has appeared in numerous journals and received awards and commendations including the John Guyon Nonfiction award, the Shelby Foote Prize for the Essay from

the Falkner Society and the Pearl Poetry award. She also performs with a jazz-poetry rhythm and blues project, The Bone People. Her published work includes a collection of short stories, The Hunger Bone: Rock & Roll Stories, two poetry collections: Everything’s a Verb and From Sweetness and a memoir, The Horizontal World: Growing Up While in the Middle of Nowhere.

D’Agata is a professor in the Department of English at the University of Iowa who teaches contemporary essay and Latin and Greek Prose. He is the author of Halls of Fame, a collection of essays published by Graywolf Press in 2001, and the editor of The Next American Essay, an anthology of innovative modern American nonfiction. His forthcoming books include The Lifespan of a Fact, a meditation on the Yucca Mountain Project in southwest Nevada, and two historical companions to The Next American Essay. He has taught at Colgate University, Columbia, and the California Institute of the Arts and is the editor of lyric essays for Seneca Review.

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IAC Staff Out & About

Jan. 12-13: Riki Saltzman in Des Moines for presentation on place-based Iowa foods at Practical Farmers of Iowa conference.

Jan. 17-18: Riki Saltzman to northeast Iowa for region-specific grant writing workshop.

Jan. 19: Dawn Martinez Oropeza to Art Educators of Iowa’s meeting in Des Moines.

Jan. 22: Mary Sundet Jones and Dawn Martinez Oropeza to Iowa City to meet with Iowa Writer’s Workshop, and attend Iowa Cultural Corridor Innovative Excellence (ICKY) Awards, along with several IAC board members.

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Listen to Iowa’s Roots

The Iowa Arts Council’s Iowa Roots Web Site has recently been updated to include MP3’s for each of the featured artists – past and present.

Iowa Roots features stories, music and talk with traditional artists from a variety of ethnic, geographic, occupational and religious groups found in Iowa. It is a production of the Iowa Arts Council and WOI Radio, a public radio station based at Iowa State University.

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DMACC Presents Nonprofit Leadership Series

Des Moines Area Community College is offering a series of nonprofit leadership workshops and classes for staff and managers of nonprofit organizations who wish to advance their leadership skills and their agency mission.

The classes are offered February through April and are held at the DMACC West Campus, 5959 Grand Ave., West Des Moines. Fees for each class vary and payment is required upon registration.

Individuals may choose one or two classes to meet their professional development needs or complete six core courses to earn a Nonprofit Leadership Certificate of Completion. Courses include a 2-Day Grant Writing Workshop; How to Start a Nonprofit; Advanced PR and Marketing 4 Nonprofits; and Board Management.

For more information, visit www.dmacc.edu.

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News from the NEA

New Arts Endowment initiative will enhance the ability of the nation's nonprofit theaters to bring new work to full production…The National Endowment for the Arts announced a new program, the NEA New Play Development Project (NPDP), to help the nation’s nonprofit theaters bring more new plays to full production. The national program will be administered by Washington, D.C.-based Arena Stage’s American Voices New Play Program. Selecting and providing support for exceptional new plays and new play development models will be a key component of the program. The NEA New Play Development Project will support the development of seven new plays at theaters from across the country. Two projects selected as NEA Outstanding New American Plays will receive up to $90,000 each to support advanced development, including at least one full production. Five projects selected as NEA Distinguished New Play Development Projects will receive up to $20,000 each to support the early stages of development for a new play with strong potential to merit a full production. In both cases, the selected plays will be developed in close collaboration with the playwrights.

Application guidelines will be available by late spring, with the inaugural round of projects announced in the fall.

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Iowa Author List Online

The Iowa Author List is a new project of the Iowa Center for the Book that includes authors of books who are presently living and writing in Iowa. The Iowa Author List is a great source of information about Iowa authors and what they have written, as well as an open invitation for them to come speak at your library, school or organization.

Authors included in this list are writing for the non-specialist reader. The book must be in physical format, printed and bound. Authors of adult, young adult and juvenile books are part of the list. Self published books are eligible for inclusion as long as they are print-on-paper and owned by at least one library in Iowa that is open to the public. Textbooks will generally not be included.

To see who is already on the list, or to add information as an author, please go to www.iowacenterforthebook.org/authors.

“Our goal is to provide information about Iowa authors to the reading public,” said Katherine Von Wald, coordinator of the Iowa Center for the Book. “We would like the list to be an easy way for Iowans to find out about Iowa authors and for Iowa authors to connect with readers. The list will also provide authors who are interested in presenting programs to libraries, schools and other groups an opportunity to make that interest known.”

To suggest an author for inclusion on the list, contact Von Wald at coordinator@iowacenterforthebook.org, or call (515) 281-4105. Please include contact information for the author.

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